The German Cultural Garden was very busy on One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946. The German community participated in the Parade of Flags which had 1500 people from over 53 countries.
Watch a video of the 2024 Parade of Flags.
German Cultural Garden in 2024 Parade of Flags on One World Day
The German Cultural Garden was very busy on One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946. Over 50,000 people visited the gardens on One World Day 2023.
The German Garden participated in the Parade of Flags which had 1500 people from over 53 countries.
Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center Dancers at St. Elizabeth Hungarian Church
In the 1700's German immigrants settled near the Danube River and were later named Danube Swabians. The Danube Swabians continued to speak German and keep their German traditions alive. Both children and adults from the Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center in Cleveland Ohio performed at the 130th anniversary of St Elizabeth Hungarian Church.
First was the Cleveland Donauschwaben Kinder (children) group dancing.
Cleveland's German community was represented at the 76th annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. One World Day has been the official event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation since 1946. Over 40,000 people visited the gardens on One World Day 2022.
They marched in the Parade of Flags and attracted thouands of visitors to their Cultural Garden.
German Cultural Garden in Parade of Flags
Here is a video of the entire Parade of Flags.
They then welcomed visitors to their Garden and a special Beer Garden and shared their culture.
Cleveland's German community was well-represented at the 75th annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. They marched in the Parade of Flags and attracted thouands of visitors to their Cultural Garden.
German Garden in the Parade of Flags at One World Day
Visitors were amazed at the size of the Goethe-Schiller monument.
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are maintaiined by delegates of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation who are volunteers from the community. That includes the German Cultural Garden as this "family affair" photo by the Goethe Schiller monument shows.
2019
German Cultural Garden at One World Day
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation hosted the 74th annual One World Day on August 25, 2019. Police estimates say that over 30,000 people visited the Gardens and attended One World Day. There was a lot of activity in the beautiful and historic German Cultural Garden.
A highlight of One World Day is the Parade of Flags where people in costumes of their heritage carry the flags. This year was undoubtedly the largest and most colorful in memory.
Hidden away in downtown Cleveland is a plaque commemorating 300 Years of German American contributions. It tells how on October 6, 1683 thirteen German families landed in America on the German ship Concord, considered the German Mayflower. Their leader Franz Daniel Pastorius founded Germantown, Pennsylvania which was the first permanent German settlement.
Watch this short video showing the plaque.
2018
One World Day 2018
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation (CCGF) hosted the 73rd annual One World Day on September 16, 2018. A highlight is the Parade of Flags where people in costumes of their heritage carry the flags. The German Garden was well-represented in the Parade.
Fashions from Germany (Bavaria) at Cleveland multicultural party
A highlight of the 8th Annual ICC-WIN Cleveland Multicultural Holiday Celebration on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland was the International Fashion Show featuring almost 100 models from about 30 countries.
Laura Vadaj and Jim Stracensky represented Bavaria, Germany's largest state. Laura is wearing a dirndl, the traditional Ladies' dress of Bavaria. Based on the traditional clothing of the farming people of the Alps. The dirndl consists of a bodice and full skirt and is worn with a puffy-sleeved blouse, an apron, and white stockings. A silver necklace is often worn as an accessory.
The colors of dirndl, white and blue-echo the Bavarian flag.
Jim is wearing lederhosen, which are embroidered knee breeches made of leather. Originally worn in the Alpine region for hard physical labor because of their durability. Lederhosen are now considered part of the Bavarian folk costume and are worn at festivals as a symbol of regional pride.
(Click on the white arrow to watch the video)
Jim Stracensky and Laura Vadaj representing Bavaria, Germany's largest state
Cleveland Bavarian community at Cleveland Multicultural Event
The Cleveland Bavarian Community was represented at the 7th annual International Community Council - Worldwide Intercultural Network (ICC-WIN) holiday party on December 14, 2016.
120 people participated in the fashion show and each walked the runway to music from their country. Click on the white arrow to watch the short video of the Bavarian models Edith Hoffmann, Laura Vadaj and Jim Stracensky.
Joe Wendel honored by American Nationalities Movement
The American Nationalities Movement held the annual Captive Nations Dinner in Cleveland on July 14, 2016. Joe Wendel of the German Community and host of the German radio show on WCPN 90.3 was honored with the Freedom Award.
Joe Wendel
In his acceptance speech, Joe talked about German pride, internment camps during the World Wars and great German people and accomplishments.
Over 185 people gathered in the German Cultural Garden in Cleveland to celebrate the 99th year of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
They gathered with 99 red balloons and posed in front of the huge Goethe-Schiller statue as the Cleveland Donauschwasbe Blaskapelle (brass band) played the 1983 German pop hit 99 Luftballons (99 re balloons) by Nena.
4 pages of photos and videos from the event including remarks from Honorary German Consul Diana Thimmig, Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli, Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation president Sheila Murphy Crawford and German Garden delegate Hans Kopp.
Cleveland Donauschwasbe Blaskapelle in the German Cultural Garden
The Cleveland Donauschwasbe Blaskapelle performed in the German Cultural Garden in Cleveland to celebrate the 99th year of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
They played the US and German national anthems, a medley and a few polkas before playing the 1983 German pop hit 99 Luftballons (99 re balloons) by Nena.
Josef Holzer was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame on May 8, 2013. Sadly, Mr. Holzer died the week before his induction whuch was made posthumous.
In the words of the Executive Committee of his beloved Donauschwaben Center:
"Those involved with our club are fully aware that for 55 years Mr. Holzer was our tireless leader serving our organization as President, Honorary President and Director of Operations. His accomplishments were numerous, but his guidance, foresight, and infectious enthusiasm were the driving force in the construction of our home at Lenau Park in Olmsted Township.
Mr. Holzer was a man whose nature was to never take credit, to always thank others, and to be a friend to all. The love of his heritage is the legacy he leaves; it lives on through those he has mentored, influenced and encouraged, sharing the traditions he loved with younger generations and perpetuating our culture.
Josef Holzer was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. He will be remembered and missed by all.
May God bless him on the road he now travels and be with his family during this difficult time."
His induction into the Hall of Fame will now be a special tribute to him. He was excited about being inducted and we are happy that he had the chance to know he was to be honored in this way.
Saxons and Sachsenheim Hall in Cleveland
In 2013 we spoke with James Kloos who was a volunteer sausage maker at the Sachsenheim Hall. German for "Saxon Home," The Sachsenheim is an historic (over 115 years old) building at 7001 Denison Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. The Sachsenheim was built and administrated over 100 years ago by the Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons. In this video, James Kloos told about the Saxons and the German and Saxon community in Cleveland.
Martin from the German Language School Cleveland tells about the German Language at an Oktoberfest event at the Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center in Cleveland. The German Language School Cleveland teaches the German language to children and adults in a cultural setting within a supportive classroom environment. He spoke about the structure of the language, some idioms and regional dialects.
Fred Ziwich leads Ein Prosit at Oktoberfest
Fred Ziwich led the orchestra in Ein Prosit at an Oktoberfest event at the Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center in Cleveland.
German couples dance at Oktoberfest in Cleveland
A traditional German couple's dance where the men slap their feet and the ladies twirl at an Oktoberfest event at the Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center in Cleveland.
German traditional anvil dance at Oktoberfest in Cleveland
A traditional German anvil dance where the men dance as blacksmiths working on the anvil. They performed at a summer Oktoberfest event at the Donauschwaben German-American Cultural Center in Cleveland.
Cleveland German Cultural Garden President Hans Kopp explained the writing on the huge Goethe-Schiller Monument in the German Cultural Garden in Cleveland Ohio. 65,000 people attended the dedication of the Cleveland monument in 1907. The original is in Weimar, Germany. It is the largest statue in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
Donauschwaben Summer Oktoberfest
August 17, 2012
Miss and Mr. Donauschwäben 2012 - Kelly Klass and Andrew Kovach
The German-American Cultural Center is home to the Cleveland Donauschwaben (Danube Swabians) ethnic group. The Donauschwaben are a German ethnic group that primarily immigrated to America following World War II and created a society to celebrate their traditions and language.
The Cleveland Donauschwaben have a very active membership of all ages that enjoys participating in a variety of groups and activities. Without the hard work and dedication of all of our ancestors, the traditions we have kept, the friendships that have formed, and the memories that have been made would not have been possible.
The goals of the German-American Cultural Center are to promote and continue the traditions of our Donauschwaben ancestors through the language, song, dance, music, dress and customs of our ancestors. We pay tribute to our ancestors that have endured so many hardships and worked so hard to give the future generations so much.
Postal address: P.O. Box 38160, Olmsted Falls, Ohio 44138
Street address: 7370 Columbia Road, Olmsted Twp., Ohio 44138, USA
donaucleveland@gmail.com
Cleveland Maennerchor Club
We are a German Choir club for men and women but we are also a social club and you don’t have to be German to join. The Männerchor is a testament to the large influx of German immigrants to this area which, in turn, served to enrich our culture and diversity. The German people have always loved to sing. The Cleveland Männerchor strives to promote this German tradition of song in the hope that it will continue to flourish as it has for over a century here in Cleveland.
Our Social Club bar is very reasonably priced with our beer selection focusing on German but we also serve Platform Palesner.
Hours: Wed-Thurs 6:00pm to 1:00am, Friday 5:00pm to 1:00am and Closed Saturday thru Tuesday.
We have Fish Fry every Friday open to the public 5pm-8pm.
Federation of German-American Societies of Greater Cleveland
The Federation of German-American Societies of Greater Cleveland is the fourth such organization to act as the official voice of the numerous German-American groups in Cuyahoga County. In its current form, the Stadtverband seeks to share the robust offerings of German clubs, groups and activities that the Greater Cleveland area offers. The number of German cultural organizations that thrive within Northeast Ohio is a living tribute and legacy to all who have contributed to honoring and growing these traditions.
Ohio German American Business Association
The Ohio German American Business Association is a non-governmental and non-profit organization founded by local business people in Cleveland, Ohio. Members are business men and women who are engaged in business with USA, particularly Ohio, and Germany, but also other countries.The objective of GABA is to support commercial and personal relations between its members and to promote economic, iceality, social and cultural relations between the USA and Germany by:
establishing a platform for its members to communicate with each other as well as governmental and other organizations
.
developing and reinforcing contacts between organizations and associations sharing a mutual interest.
organizing business and social meetings, seminars, conferences and other related events.
German American National Congress (DANK - Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress)
The German American National Congress, also known as DANK (Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress), is the largest German-American organization in the United States, with 17 chapters in 7 states. The national organization seeks to bring together German-Americans in the pursuit of cultivating and presenting their heritage and interests on local, regional, and national levels. These were the primary reasons that DANK was founded in 1959, and they are still among the organization’s primary objectives today.
Deutscher Musik Verein - German Music Society
The DMV, as we are often referred to, is not the Department of Motor Vehicles but Cleveland’s own Deutscher Musik Verein -- auf englisch, German Music Society. We love to bring oom-pah music and more wherever we go while celebrating all things German, the joy of music and friendships - new and old. And did we mention that we have a lot of fun doing all that we do?
Gottscheer Club of Cleveland
Erster Österreichischer Unterstützungs Verein (The First Austrian Mutual Aid Society) or the Gottscheer Club of Cleveland, Ohio. We are very proud to be the oldest Gottscheer organization in North America. Gottschee (Slovene: Kocevsko) refers to a former German-speaking region in Carniola, a crownland of the Habsburg Empire, part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola, now in Slovenia.
S.T.V. Bavaria Schuhplattler
“The Schuhplattler und Trachtenverein was established as a Club to: further the common goals and interests of its members by preserving, perpetuating and advancing German Culture and customs; promote the preservation of traditional Bavarian and Tirolean costume, folk dance (Schuhplattln) and song; and, develop and maintain an awareness of and an appreciation for German culture and customs by encouraging mutual sociability among its members and the greater community.”
German Language School Cleveland
The School has been serving the community for over 50 years offering high quality education of not only the German language, but also the rich history and traditions of the German culture. The German Language School Cleveland teaches the German language to children and adults in a cultural setting within a supportive classroom environment. Our curriculum, textbooks, and methods are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Read more about the German and other Ambassadors. If you are interested in being considered to be an official ClevelandPeople.com Ambassador to the Cleveland German community, please contact us.
